Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Practical Duct Tape Projects
Practical Duct Tape Projects
Practical Duct Tape Projects
Ebook549 pages1 hour

Practical Duct Tape Projects

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3/5

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Duct tape has gotten a reputation as the quick-fix tape for every situation. However, did you know that you can use duct tape to create practical items for everyday use? Did you also know that duct tape now comes in a variety of colors, so your creations can be fun and stylish? Originating from Instructables, a popular project-based community made up of all sorts of characters with wacky hobbies and a desire to pass on their wisdom to others, Practical Duct Tape Projects contains ideas from a number of authors who nurse a healthy urge to create anything possible from duct tape.

Practical Duct Tape Projects provides step-by-step instructions on a variety of useful and fun objects involving duct tape. Guided through each endeavor by detailed photographs, the reader will create articles of clothing, tools, and more, such as:
  • Fishing net
  • Messenger bag
  • Wallet with change pouch
  • Duck tub stopper
  • Laptop case
  • Pencil case
  • And much more!

The Instructables community has provided a compilation of guides on a variety of duct tape exploits. The most outrageous projects are definitely the most fun, and this book shows that duct tape can make just about anything.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherSkyhorse
Release dateMay 1, 2013
ISBN9781626362437
Practical Duct Tape Projects
Author

Instructables.com

Instructables.com is a bona fide Internet sensation, a web-based community of motivated do-it-yourselfers who contribute invaluable how-to guides to the site on a wide range of topics, from gardening and home repair to recipes to gadgets that defy categorization. The site hosts more than 100,000 projects. More than 15 million people visit the site each month, leaving comments and suggestions on the ever-growing list of do-it-yourself projects.

Read more from Instructables.Com

Related to Practical Duct Tape Projects

Related ebooks

Related articles

Reviews for Practical Duct Tape Projects

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5

4 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    Practical Duct Tape Projects - Instructables.com

    Section 1

    Bags & Totes

    Messenger Bag and Hardware

    By neumaics

    http://www.instructables.com/id/Duct-Tape-Messenger-Bag-Hardware/

    This Instructable completely details the construction of a duct tape messenger bag. This includes the bag structure and hardware to make it useful. It can be made and ready to use within a few hours. No stitching is required. Other than the metal pieces used in the hardware, it is made completely with duct tape. Total construction time is about two hours.

    I have been using a prototype as often as practical for school and it has performed admirably—with a few flaws. It took a few weeks to recognize and repair most of the weaknesses and has operated stress free for most of the semester. It’s also survived a couple of semi-rigorous bike rides.

    This tutorial is based on the bag I’ve been using, but with important changes that will improve durability. Also, this is the most basic design I’ve made. Version 2 can be easily customized to suit the needs of the builder.

    Here are pictures of the model currently in use (v2.2) and the one made for this Instructable. Version 2.2 has taken some abuse and has undergone many, many repairs.

    Don’t let the nineteen steps daunt you—making a messenger bag from scratch can become complex. I’ve attempted to simplify the process as much as possible.

    Step 1: Gather Materials

    Materials you need for the bag structure

    1. Duct tape—three 30 yd rolls

    2. Scissors

    3. Cutting board

    4. Pins

    5. Yard stick

    I imagine any brand or color of duct tape will do. For this Instructable and my previous bags, I used standard Scotch/3M brand tape. It is 1.88" wide, gray, and purchased at the local hardware store. For your first go at this, I suggest whatever is least expensive. The scissors, cutting board, and pins can be purchased from any sewing supply store. If you don’t want to pay for a cutting board, it can be substituted for a flat sheet of corrugated card board that has linear dimensions more than 3’ X 3’. I haven’t tried it this way, but it should work. Also the pins can be substituted for thumb tacks—you’ll need 44 at the very least. If you sew, you probably have good scissors, a cutting board, and pins readily available. Please note: Don’t use your good scissors and pins to do this Instructable.* They will become gunky from the duct tape’s sticky substance and annoying to use later on. I suggest that, after using pins for the first run, you separate them from your other sewing pins. Use a less-loved pair of scissors if you can. After cutting a few pieces of duct tape, your scissors will gunk up and cutting performance/ quality will diminish greatly. It is worth the time to take a moment to clean gunk off of the scissors so they can cut cleanly again.

    Materials needed to construct the hardware

    1. Duct tape

    2. Marker flags

    3. Tension pins

    4. Washers

    5. Pliers

    6. Tin snips

    7. Sacrificial ruler

    8. Regular ruler

    This portion is optional! If you have hardware lying around, you can easily use that. I don’t recommend it though. All materials can be bought at Home Depot, except for the ruler maybe. Hardware includes handle anchors, shoulder strap anchors, and buckles. As mentioned, you can salvage these from another, preferably useless, bag. I strongly suggest that you don’t ruin a perfectly useful bag just to make a mostly useful bag. That would be silly. Amounts of different materials will be discussed in the hardware portion (step 12).

    After gathering materials to build the bag structure, you may move to the next step without fear of injury.

    *You can periodically clean the scissors or pins with eucalyptus oil or goo remover. Be careful when cleaning scissors with plastic parts, as goo could dissolve these parts.

    Step 2: Understand the Plan

    Duct tape is frustrating to manipulate in long lengths. You can easily degrade the quality of the bag— if not completely ruin your work—if you mess up even once. Therefore I highly suggest you understand the plan of action before starting. Of course you can skip through the steps and learn that way, but I have them condensed conveniently on this one page. Simply, we will build layers of tape sheets that will form a flat shell, which we will fold into a useful, bag-like shape. The areas that comprise the panels of the bag are marked on the first picture. The outside border serves as an interface between the panels and also helps make a clean edge when finishing. The second picture shows the layers we will be making. Although three are shown, there will be five in this tutorial. The other two are permutations on the other three and optional, though recommended. Notice how layer two is only ten widths wide rather than eleven widths wide for layer one? This is how we get the border on the left and right sides of the sheet—layer two is offset by .94" on either side. It seems simple . . . and it is! In practice, though, there are annoying bits due to the nature of sticky back tape. Now that you understand the project completely, we can proceed.

    Step 3: Begin Layer One

    Here we begin in the logical place. After components are gathered, find an open area free of wandering animals or children. Spread the cutting board/ cardboard over a large, flat surface. Make the duct tape, pins, and scissors handy. Cut one 36" strip of duct tape. With the sticky side face up, pin a corner to the board. Make sure you will have enough room on either side to accommodate the full width of the sheet. Pull the opposite corner of the pinned corner taught and pin. Make sure the length of the tape is as a straight as possible. Finish pinning the other corners, and adjust geometry as necessary. Repeat six more times. Try to minimize the gap between the lengths, of course keeping the length as straight as possible. Layer one is not done—it still needs side panels, but we’ll get back to finishing it in a few steps.

    Step 4: Begin Layer Two

    Layer two begins much like layer one. There are no pins this time. Cut a 35 length of duct tape and place about 1 offset of the first layer. This operation takes practice, you’ll find. I suggest you stand or sit perpendicular to the sheet of tape. After cutting the 35" piece of tape, stick your right thumb and middle finger to the corners on the right of the tape, doing likewise with your left hand. After both sides are stuck securely to your two fingers, pull taught. Align the piece above where it needs to be placed and slowly lower, adjusting as necessary. Lower until the piece is attached to the first layer. If you make a mistake, try to minimize the amount of contact with the bottom layer and pull it gently off, then try again. You may accidentally pull the first layer up while pulling up on a failed strip placement. If this happens, just re-seat the pins, while making sure that the strip of tape is still aligned. Repeat five more times, and you’re done with the first tricky part.

    Step 5: Begin Layer Three

    If you had trouble with the previous step, the next part should be much easier. Cut six pieces of tape 11.25 long. Using the same thumb/middle finger technique as before, place this layer perpendicular to the previous layers at the top" of the sheet. These pieces should span the second layer, covering it completely. Place all six pieces. Then we can move onto finishing the first and second layer.

    Step 6: Finish Layer One and Layer Two

    Layer one and layer two require the side panels to be added. Rather than wasting duct tape, or measuring where the tape might fall, I use this method because it shows exactly where the side panels need to be. Begin by cutting four more 11.25 strips of tape. Place two on either side. Using the same pinning method as in layer one, pin the strips to the sides so that the top of the tape is parallel with the middle of the last piece of layer three placed. Pin all four pieces that comprise your side panels, then move on. Layer two is finished by cutting four 11 strips of tape and placing them on top of the newly finished layer one, except with roughly 1" offset. If there is any confusion, I suggest you look at the diagram. After the side panels are completed, you can move on to finish layer three.

    Step 7: Finish Layer Three

    Layer three restarts where we left off, naturally. To finish it, we will need to cover the new side panels. This will take five 19 strips of tape (actually 18.8, if you can measure/cut that accurately). Again, this is only to cover layer two, which may or may not be 19 wide. The first picture shows how to eyeball the measurement. It turns out that it’s close enough to 19 and this wasn’t necessary. Place these butted against the previously placed strips of tape in layer three. Cut seven more 11.25 pieces of tape and continue to place below the 19 lengths. Layers 1–3 are now finished! Continue with layer four.

    Step 8: Layer Four

    Layer four is exactly like layer three, except that the sticky side is down. Be aware, once a strip of layer four is placed, it cannot be removed without causing damage to the lower layers. Fortunately, finding where to place the strips of tape is easy. Small gaps are acceptable, but try to stay consistent with layer three and try not to get too far off. Begin as you

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1